Assessment of practices of management accounting in manufacturing companies in Tanzania

The study was designed to understand the extent of use of management accounting practices in manufacturing companies in developing countries. The study was centered on three elements of management accounting namely: cost volume profit analysis, budget and forecasts and variance analysis. The three elements of management accounting were critically analyzed to get deep understanding of their usefulness in manufacturing companies. The study applied descriptive approach, exploring extensively management accounting practices within manufacturing companies in Tanzania. Since the study aimed at identifying and describing the extent of use of management accounting practices, the descriptive research design was an essential mean guiding the researcher to completing the study objectives.The study finds that in most manufacturing company’s management accounting practices are significantly used. Also findings show that, management accounting practices such cost volume profit analysis, budget and forecasting and variance analysis are used in decisions such as raw material sourcing, pricing, distribution, models and others by more than 80%. The study shows that management accounting practices are essential component in company’s decision making process. Basing on the responses from the respondents, it is fair to conclude that Management accounting practices are significantly used in manufacturing companies. The findings provide the evidence of uses of management accounting practices in manufacturing companies. Managers in others companies that have not adopted the use of management accounting practices should reinforce and implement in their companies for better performance.